I thought apple fritters would be harder than this.

I mean, really, shouldn’t they be harder than this? Don’t they look hard? But no, super easy. Every ingredient is something that I have readily available in my kitchen. The batter comes together in less than 15 minutes, and that includes the time it takes to peel and cut up the apples. Frying them all took maybe 20 minutes, since you do have do multiple batches. (I imagine if I owned a proper fryer than it would be even quicker, but a fryer has never been on my list of kitchen wants.) But really, one two three and poof, done. Dusted them with a little powdered sugar and served.

And these are absolutely scrumptious. The texture is great. The ratio of apples to dough is on point. And did I mention how easy and quick they were? Simple, tasty things that can be quickly whipped up for a crowd. What more can you ask for?

This is a recipe that I am excited to play around with more in the future. There is so much room for variation here. Playing with different kinds of flour to maybe up the yeast quotient a bit. Adding various spices to the dry ingredients. I’m thinking a little clove might be nice. Adding some cinnamon to the powdered sugar. I don’t want to screw up something that is solid without being fussy, but there is room for fun to be had here.

Apple Fritters
(from Martha Stewart Living)

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (or 6 tablespoons) of granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup whole milk
2 large eggs room temperature
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 sweet apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
Safflower oil for frying
Confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Whisk the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt) together in one bowl and the wet ingredients (milk, eggs, butter, vanilla) together in another bowl. Gently fold wet mixture into dry mixture until no streaks remain. Then fold in apple pieces.

Heat two inches of oil in a heavy bottomed pot over medium heat until a thermometer registers 350 degrees. Set a wire rack over a baking sheet. (I put a paper towel under the wire rack to absorb any dripping oil and make clean up easier.)

Using a small ice cream or cookie scoop (or a tablespoon if you have neither), drop balls of dough into the oil. Cook, turning once, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to wire rack to cool slightly.

Once cool enough to handle, dust with confectioners sugar and serve warm.